Artist-in-residence guides creation of Hampton Middle School mural

Art projects for preteens rarely involve prospects for permanence.

Hampton Middle School is making an exception.

In the fall, students completed a mural that went on display in the school cafeteria, and another sizable painting is in the works to brighten the courtyard for years to come.

“If it’s around for a while,” sixth grader Connor Butler said, “that will definitely be cool, thinking there’s something I did that people will remember.”

Students in eighth-grade Draw, Paint and Print class took the lead on the latest endeavor, coming up with a theme of science and nature, and then collaborating with middle school artist-in-residence Alison Zapata on applicable elements.

“It was all based on students’ ideas,” Zapata said. “I took their designs home and created one unified piece, kind of blending their ideas together.”

She developed renderings for two parts to the mural, one emphasizing the use of a magnifying glass to view smaller examples of nature on earth, and the other featuring a telescope to aim at the vastness of space.

All students at the middle school are welcome to contribute to the project, and on Feb. 27, Zapata and art teacher Lisa Woods welcomed a group of sixth graders to start painting the portion depicting the night sky.

“I’m just really happy to be a part of this, and I feel so lucky that I’m with this amazing group, getting to work on this beautiful mural,” student Veda Lilienthal said. “I absolutely love art. It’s been a passion of mine since I was so little, and I just think it’s so cool getting to meet an actual artist.”

Zapata has a substantial background in art education, teaching classes after she graduated from Carlow University and later embarking on numerous school residency programs through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Media.

A grant from the Hampton Alliance for Educational Excellence helped bring her to the middle school, at Woods’ request.

“I really love the idea of bringing an artist in to work with the students, and just the other day, I was reminded of why,” Woods said. “Ms. Zapata was presenting the design to the students, and she was referring to their drawings and saying, ‘Hey, this is where this idea came from.’ And the kids’ faces lit up. They were like, ‘Oh, that was my drawing!’

“It makes a huge difference to them to hear a professional say, ‘You’re doing something good here. You have good ideas. Your work matters.’”

Another professional, San Francisco-based artist Amanda Lynn visited the middle school in November for “one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” according to a post on her Facebook page. “It has been a lifelong goal of mine the not only be a full-time muralist and fine artist, but to also share the joy of creation with children of all ages.”

With her guidance, the Hampton students created a mural teeming with symbols of life: Butterflies, bees and flowers join a dog, deer and a pair of unifying hands in adding positive imagery to the cafeteria’s ambience.

Principal Marlynn Lux considers the murals to fit right in with her school’s educational objectives.

“I would definitely say that the arts are equally as important as our academic subjects. And so we really want our students to find passion in the arts, whether it be visual arts or whether it be the musical realm of the arts,” she said.

Lux acknowledged Woods’ role in advancing the cause:

“She’s constantly thinking about ways to inspire her students beyond the traditional art curriculum.”

The sixth graders working on the latest mural seemed to draw plenty of inspiration.

“I think it’s going to be really cool in the courtyard, because it’s going to make it more colorful,” Brynley Page said, underscoring her favorite aspect of the project. “And I like to work and paint with other students, and I love to do art.”

So does classmate Avery Youhouse, plus she’s a fan of the mural’s theme.

“Science and art combined: It’s like our whole world, kind of, that you rely on both things to live.”